Mech Ponies
by Kanmeros
Summary: The land of Equestria has been ravaged by war for centuries.  The ponies defend themselves against other countries by using their trusty mech suits and aereal jets.  This is the story of an elite group in a quest to bring peace to their war torn country.
1. Chapter 1

MECH PONIES

By

RedDragonKan

The battlefield was a desolate wasteland. Years of fighting has reduced the area to dirt and rocks, barely even usable to live of it at all. In the middle of the area laid a battlemech on its back, smoke coming from the engines that refused to ignite after being overheated. It did not help that fuel tanks were empty and the ammunition was depleted. Inside the mech there was a purple unicorn mare, her hoofs frantically moving levers, pressing buttons...anything to make the heavy suit move, but it was for naught. She kept calling in for back up at the same time, but as time passed, she slowly realized that no one would ever come to her aid. She looked through the glass of her mech up to the sky as a group of enemy flyers kept circling above her like vultures to carrion. Sweat kept drenching her brow as continued to force her mech to stand and fight or flee. She watched in fear as one of the enemy fighters suddenly broke formation from the rest and headed straight down at her. Her eyes grew wide, pupils dilating as the fighter prepared a pair of missiles aimed at her. And then...

SIX MONTHS AGO

Twilight Sparkle trotted towards an empty table levitating a tray of food from the cafeteria kitchen. She liked eating light since it was fast and she could go back to hit the books with time to spare until the next drill called for her to duty. She set down the tray with a plate of chopped carrots, broccoli, and some celery, along with a cup of grape juice and a bag of apple crisps. She began eating when another mare approached her table, and cleared her throat. Twilight looked up to see an orange earth pony with her blonde mane tide to the side. She sported a cowpony hat and carried her own tray with a hoof. Twilight smiled.

"Well, hello there Applejack. Having your break early as well?"

"Nah, just got hungry that's all..." The earth pony known as Applejack sat down the opposite way to Twilight and set her tray down on the table as well. Unlike the unicorn, Applejack always ate more than what she could fit in her mouth. The tray was nearly full of hay fries, apple slices, a tofu burger, and some chocolate bars. She also brought with her an extra large glass of apple cider to wash it all down. Twilight's eyes bulged at the sheer sight of all the food, something Applejack always found it amusing whenever they met to eat.

"Are you going to eat all THAT?"

"Of course! Why shouldn't ah kept mahself from turning into skin an' bones?"

Twilight said nothing else and resumed eating, ignoring the loud noises her friend kept making as she stuffed her mouth with helping portions of her meal. By the time they finished, they started a little chat about anything new that happened in their lives at the moment. Even when Twilight met her friend from time to time, they both stayed in different sectors of the base for most of the day.

"So Applejack" Twilight continued "have you heard about the war in the east? Do you know if they are still going to send more of us to strengthen the reserves?"

"Ah don' know sugarcube," Applejack said, lowering her hat to cover her eyes. "Ah just know that they gonna send us sometime or 'nother. There's no way to avoid this." The cowpony then straightened on her chair, "'sides, mah brother would've already sent some sort of stress signal if they needed us..."

Twilight felt a pang of guilt after hearing this. She had forgotten that Applejack's older brother, Captain Big Macintosh, was currently fighting in the far east of the border. She slunk down on her chair, eyes lowering to the table.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't brought this up."

"Don't you worry about it, Twi. Stuff happens fer a reason' after all."

The bell rang on the far wall of the cafeteria, indicating a briefing was about to take place. The mares got up from their seats and tossed away what remained of their meal, while resting their trays on top of the table reserved for them. They exited the cafeteria and stopped briefly to look at each other.

"Well," Applejack said, "guess we'll see each other later. You take care now, Twi."

"You too, AJ" Twilight said as she turned to canter towards the briefing room "We'll see you later!"

"Later." Applejack said, walking towards the opposite direction to get to her own meeting.

NOW

_It can't end like this..._ Twilight thought as she prepared for the worst. She shut her eyes tight and waited for the inevitable, when she heard an explosion coming from outside. She opened her eyes to notice that the fighter that was about to fire upon her detonated in various pieces, forming a fireball in mid air. Soon, the other fighters were being hit one by one from the ground. Twilight Sparkle tried to figure out what was happening when her radio came alive.

"Twilight? Twilight! Do you copy?"

"Applejack! By Celestia, I'm so glad you showed up!"

Soon, other missiles were shot at the remaining fighters, who were now trying to escape the onslaught themselves. Twilight received another call in her headset, this time from a different soldier.

"It's alright, Twi! We got them!"

"Rainbow Dash?"

"And don't forget about lil' old me, silly!"

"Pinkie Pie! Am I glad to hear you both as well!"

By the time every enemy fighter was dealt with, Twilight Sparkle looked from her mech a trio of hulking machines towering over her from all sides. Her friends. Those who she met back at the base have come to rescue her.

"Alright, we'll give you a hoof now, Twi." Applejack communicated "You'll be back at the base in no time at all."

Twilight felt tears flowing from her eyes. If she hadn't met them before this, who knows how things would've turned out.

ONE YEAR AGO

Twilight Sparkle walked through the doors of the base she was assigned to after graduating from the academy months ago. She trotted in the hallway of the building, with her uniform in pristine condition and dragging her suitcase with her magic from behind. Every now and then she would come across a pony to ask for directions to the dorms. Although they didn't seem quite friendly, they nonetheless aid her in what they could. Once in the dorm section of the base, she located the door to the room she was going to spend inside for the next three years. She opened the door and stepped inside with her baggage in tow. She inspected her new dorm out, a desk was near a window, and a TV nailed on the side of the wall, two closets that seemed ample enough, and two beds...one that was occupied at the moment. Twilight blinked at the sound of snoring coming from one of the beds. Whoever was on it was wrapped up to her neck in blankets, her head the only visible part of the pony. She noted that said pony was colored cyan with a rainbow mane that seemed all over her head. Twilight entered inside not wanting to wake the other pony up and set her luggage on her bed carefully. She opened the locks on the case and the click was a bit too loud that she expected. Twilight bit her lip and looked at the other pony, whose ears perk up at the sound and suddenly turned her body to see her.

"Who are you?" She demanded, her eyes puffy and stifling a yawn. Twilight sighed and cleared her throat before introducing herself.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'll be your roommate so it seems. Sorry for waking you up, I was only trying to get everything ready so I could settle in here."

"Nah, its cool," the cyan pony explained "I was about to get up anyway, have to make a few drills in my mech soon. By the way, name's Rainbow Dash. Nice meeting ya."

Twilight discovered that when Rainbow Dash was getting up, she stretched her wings to shake off the tiredness. A pegasus, this was different than when she shared a room in the academy with another unicorn filly, Moondancer. Twilight resumed her unpack aging as Rainbow Dash got off from bed and headed to the bathroom. By the time Twilight had her clothes and whatnot stored in a dresser and in one of the closets, Rainbow Dash came out from the bathroom, looking a lot more refreshed and ready to face the day. She walked towards the exit when she stopped and turned her head to talk to the unicorn.

"By the way, it might be a good idea for you to wander around the place and get familiar with it. Just beware of Pinkie Pie if you find her along the way, especially if she finds out if you are new here."

Twilight stared at the pegasus with a question on her face. Rainbow just chuckled.

"You'll see what I mean. See ya later!"

With that, Twilight was left by herself. Not thinking too hard on the last words Rainbow told her, she took her advice of walking around to know the place she was in. First though, she decided to change clothes too look more formal among the cadets of the base. Changing from her academic attire to green fatigues, Twilight exited her dorm and began wander outside on the hallway. Along the way, she met various ponies of all three kinds, getting a nod and some formal greetings as she trotted by. She became idly distracted that she suddenly bumped into another pony while looking to the side. Twilight righted herself and looked to see who she just bumped into.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, I hope-"

She was interrupted by a loud gasp that escaped from a pink earth pony in front of her. Before Twilight could register why she did this, the pink pony bounced straight at her face and looked at her with a pair of big, blue eyes with a glint of curiosity on them. Twilight was forced to step back a few paces feeling suddenly intimidated by this sudden approach. However, the pink pony paced along with her, eyes glued to hers.

"Ohmygosh! I've never seen you before! And I KNOW everypony in this base! You are new here, aren't you?"

"Um...yeah, I'm actually-"

"New! This is exciting! I haven't met anypony new for months! I MUST get you to a party to celebrate your arrival!"

"A party? Oh no, you see, I am not here for anything like that, I'm-"

"But you _must _come! You're the guest of honor! The VIP! The...the...um, what's your name again?"

"Twilight Sparkle." the unicorn said, containing her composure. "Listen, miss..."

"Pinkie Pie!" the pink filly said energetically "This is going to be so much fun, Twi! Mind if I call you Twi? I think it's a good nickname, kinda sounds like pie. Hey! Our names rhyme with each other!"

"Um, I guess so. Look, I am flattered that you want to do this for me, but I really must be on my way. Maybe in another occasion we could have this party of yours. Hope you understand, heh."

Pinkie Pie's mood suddenly dropped to a disdain look on her face. Her lips began quivering as her eyes became bigger than what they were before. By the time Twilight noted that Pinkie's mane seemed to be deflating, she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Alright. I'll join your party. Just not now though, but tell me when's a good time, and I'll join, promise."

"Yay!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, embracing Twilight in a tight hug that threatened to crush her neck. When Twilight thought of trying to pry herself loose, Pinkie Pie let go of her, leaving the unicorn gasping for air.

"Don't...do...that again..."

"Okie dokie lokie! I'll see you at the cafeteria later on, Twi! Bring Rainbow Dash too!"

Twilight tried to ask her how she knew Rainbow was her roommate, but Pinkie Pie was already bouncing away from her while singing about the upcoming party. Shaking her head about what just happened, Twilight resumed her walk around the base. When she was satisfied, she returned to her room and plopped on her bed, reading a book she brought along to pass the time. Rainbow Dash later entered, looking a bit exasperated but with a smile on her face. The pegasus jumped to her bed and faced Twilight.

"So...how did your tour go so far?"

"Oh, it was alright," Twilight replied after getting her nose from the book to talk to Rainbow. "Although I did meet the one you called Pinkie Pie...strangely enough, she wanted to throw a party in my honor for being new here."

Rainbow Dash facehoofed, a sign that Twilight took was not quite a positive one.

"Sigh, I told you to avoid her. She does this every time she finds somepony new here. Let me guess, she asked you to bring me along."

"Uh...I won't if that means anything bad to you?"

"Oh no, nothing like that, I am just worried that you might not survive one of her parties. So far, the best that had happened was that ponies just suffered from a dire hangover. Hope you are used to some heavy partying."

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck and resumed reading her book. It wouldn't be that bad, would it? Just a simple little party to get introduced to this base and nothing more. What could possibly go wrong...

NOW

"And then you puked all over the floor, that's what went wrong!"

Pinkie Pie kept Twilight cheered up while she was being examined by the base's nurse in duty, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail. The nurse tried to keep Twilight still as she continued with her work.

"I keep telling you Fluttershy, I'm fine! I just got some bruises and a headache after what happened out there, otherwise there's no need for this, really."

"That's what everypony keeps telling me," Fluttershy stated "Then all of the sudden, you fall down unconscious for something you neglected me to check. I'm not letting you off until I make sure you are one hundred percent stable. Now hold still."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash both were a few feet away from the table where Twilight was being treated. No matter how many times Fluttershy asked them to let the unicorn have some privacy, they all refused to leave. The nurse kept doing her job ignoring them as much as she could handle. Applejack approached Twilight despite getting a stare from the nurse.

"Sure am happy you are alive, Twi. Was hard to find ya, but your signal kept us in the right path."

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash interjected "You didn't give up even in the face of death! That just made you 20% cooler in my book."

"Thanks girls, I owe you big time. I can't repay you enough for what you did."

"Maybe we can throw a party!" Pinkie Pie bounced in place. The rest of the ponies looked at each other feeling a bit uncomfortable at the mention of that word. Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and tilted her head in confusion. Just when the pink was about to ask what she said, the curtain opened to reveal a white coated unicorn mare with a vest decorated with war medals and ranks. Everypony, including the nurse, stood in attention. Twilight however tried to get down from the table, but the official pony held up her hoof.

"At ease, ladies." she said in a refined tone, "How's the patient, nurse Fluttershy? Is she ready to leave?"

"Oh, just a few more moments and she's all yours, Lieutenant Rarity, ma'am."

"I believe she should be just fine by now. If you excuse us, I must get these fillies to an official meeting. Ladies?"

Fluttershy puffed her cheeks as Twilight hoped down from the table and joined the rest of the group along with their superior out from the small clinic tent. The nurse relaxed her expression and sighed.

"If she ends up fainting, don't blame me for it!"

Rarity led the trio to another tent set up nearby. Once inside they were greeted by another pony, one that had a few more decorations on his vest than Rarity. The white unicorn saluted once she and the rest were next to him, the others following the same example. The blue unicorn pony returned the gesture, then pointed to the monitor screen of one of the computers in the tent.

"It seems our last mission didn't go as planned," the unicorn explained "We were round up and forced to retreat in this location, while the enemy kept pushing us to the point that we had to abandoned every other pony behind in the battlefield. Twilight, I hope this doesn't lessened your view on us."

"I'm not going to blame you for what happened, Captain Pokey." Twilight admitted "I was very lucky you sent my friends to rescue me though. I am grateful."

The captain nodded and then typed a few keys on the keyboard. The image flickered and revealed a new series of screens. Some of them illustrated black painted mechs and air jets. Others displayed maps and pinpointed locations. The rest featured a light blue coated, bright blue maned unicorn mare, wearing a scowl on her face while looking straight at the screen. Captain Pokey pointed with his hoof at the photo of said mare.

"This, my ponies is Trixie, self proclaimed great and powerful. She is in charge of the mercenary group that joined forces with the enemy. She is as ruthless as she is cunning. She spearheaded her attack on our last attempt in assaulting one of the enemy's bases. Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse, this individual appears."

Typing a few more keys, the screen displayed a new photo, this time of a female gryphon with a steel look in her eyes, and a sharp beak. She had a couple of feathers on top of her forehead that gave her a stylish look. Rainbow Dash was the first to register who this was, and her eyes narrowed.

"Gilda."

"That's correct, Sergeant. The gryphon army suddenly moved to the north, cutting our way to safety in case Trixie managed to cross our defenses. We do not know if they joined forces or are just planning their part in taking over whoever loses. However we don't have much choice other than figure out what their move will be before Trixie decides to strike again. We need a plan that will give us an advantage."

"If I may suggest, sir" Rarity intervened "We could send a small group to go around the gryphon army and get intelligence about what they are up to. Maybe they would have the same intention as us in the manner of getting that base that has been a pain in our flank?"

The captain looked at Rarity and nodded. "That sounds to be the logical choice at the moment. I trust you have anypony available for the mission?"

"By of course," Rarity stated, turning to raise a hoof to point at the rest of the ponies present. "These fillies will do the job just fine."

"Now hold on just a dang minute there...er, ma'am." Applejack interjected, "How you suppose only the four of us will be able to sneak over and spy on them gryphons by ourselves? That sounds like suicide!"

Rarity chuckled softly and directed her attention to Applejack. "That's right, only four of you to get the job done. Smaller numbers mean a much better chance of success!"

The four of them at each other with uncertainty. Rainbow Dash clopped her hooves together after shaking off the feeling.

"Well for once I would like to get back at Gilda. I'm in!"

"If Dashie goes, I go too!" Pinkie Pie said with utmost gleefulness. Only Applejack and Twilight look at each other for any indication of joining or being left behind. Twilight sighed.

"Looks like I'll go too," the unicorn confirmed "Even after what just happened I can't stay back here and do nothing to get our chances in claiming victory."

"Alright, ahm sold." Applejack surrendered "Not gonna let you gals get all the glory."

With a cheer from Pinkie Pie, they all turned to their superiors to get briefed on the mission ahead.

In the garage, the four ponies trotted towards their respective mechs led by Rainbow Dash. After giving the go ahead, each one of them suit up with a special suit that resembled a smaller version of their original mechs. It covered their front and back legs, and their back, with a partial helmet covering their heads. When they were all suited up, they began climbing on their bigger mechs, each waving at the other before fully getting inside. After the last pony entered her mech, they all started them up, mechs coming to life as they all switched on their mics.

"Alright," Rainbow Dash announced, "Everypony check in!"

"This is Alpha 4, standing by!" Applejack checked.

"This is Alpha 3, standing byish!" Pinkie Pie replied.

"Alpha 2, ready to go, Sergeant!" Twilight finished.

"Okay, fillies! This is Alpha 1ready and we all rarin' to go!"

The gate opened as they all started marching towards it. Heavy steps leaving an echo of steel meeting the hard concrete floor. The gate once fully opened, it revealed the orange sky as the sun was setting. The light reflected on their mechs as they continued forward to their mission.


	2. Chapter 2

MECH PONIES 2

By

RedDragonKan

The mechs stopped just beneath some hills in a remote area. With a hiss escaping from them, their latches came open and soon after the ponies climbed down equipped with their respective armor. They each walked together and climbed the hill up to the top. As soon as they reached it, they all lowered their bodies touching the ground and looking forward at campsite filled with enemy gryphon soldiers. Rainbow Dash took out a pair of binoculars and inspected the area closely, zooming in for any way they all could get inside without being noticed. The rest of her friends waited patiently until their Sergeant found anything. A few moments more and Dash let out a grunt.

"What is it Dash?" Applejack asked "You found somethin'?"

"Kind of. I noticed that there is an entrance to the far east of the settlement into the mountain inside that is only guarded by two gryphons. But it looks like we are going to get creative in order to get near it."

Dash gave the binoculars to Applejack to let her know what she meant. Appplejack peered into them towards the spot Dash indicated, and indeed it was not heavily guarded at all, but the way to get there was going to be risky, since there were no way to pass by without being noticed, and there was little places they could sneak around without a gryphon spotting them. Applejack then passed it to Twilight, who in turn, passed it to Pinkie Pie so each of them knew what they would be against. Afterwards, they all settled deep in thought to find a way inside. All of the sudden, Pinkie Pie stood up.

"Pinkie! You are going to give us away!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Don't you worry Dashie! I gotta plan so you all can get in!"

"And what plan would that be?" Twilight said with skepticism.

"Just you wait, I'll get us there. When you get a chance, you run as fast as your pony legs can get you, I'll catch up with you later."

"Pinkie, what in the hay are you implying?"

Before Applejack could get her answer, they all saw Pinkie Pie rushing down the hill towards the group of gryphons and yelling as hard as she could. The three remaining ponies's mouths fell agape as the gryphons began shooting at the crazy pink pony, which was dodging everything it was thrown at her with dexterity and able to shoot back in turn to keep them busy. Rainbow Dash was the first to regain her senses and then motioned the rest to move out.

"Alright fillies, looks like we got covered. Let's move!"

All three ponies dashed down on the other side of the cliff, away from the battle and hiding at many spots as t hey could find, moving from one side to the other without being seen. Getting behind a huge wooden box, Rainbow Dash peered over the side to see the two gryphon guards at the entrance. She turned her head and motioned Applejack to come closer.

"AJ, use your energy lasso to get the closest guard. I'll get the other guy."

"Right!"

Applejack stepped into view and got a long line shimmering from one of her armored gauntlets on her hoof. She began spinning said lasso up above her head until it was big enough. Then she tossed it and trapped the gryphon closest to them, tightening around his body. Before the gryphon could react, Applejack yanked him towards them. A few thuds were heard afterwards. The remaining gryphon guard turned his head to the sound and noticed something coming at him _awfully _fast. So fast that he only made out the face of an angry pony glaring at him before an armored hoof knocked him out. The gryphon went flying towards a rock and clashed, dropping to the floor with an agonizing groan.

"Heh...easy as pie. I _love _my turbo boosters. Alright girls, let's go inside to see what these feathered cats are planning."

"All this violence..." Twilight observed "Just to get some info. The sooner we do this, the better. I don't want to confront nopony, much less a gryphon."

"But violence is what makes it fun, Twi!" Rainbow Dash said as she pushed a few buttons on the pad to open the door. With a hiss, the metallic door swung open allowing them access inside. Twilight turned on a mini radar device to locate the location of hostiles should they find more gryphons on their way. They made various turns as they walked deeper into the base. Every now and then they would find a gryphon solder, but they would just find a way to knock him and place him away in the shadows. They steered clear from points were they heard more than one soldier talking in idle chat, something that Dash tried to tolerate since she wanted a piece of the action regardless of the numbers she would have to face. Twilight reminded her Sergeant that their mission was just to collect information about why the gryphon army moved here, not to engage in mindless combat. With a tired sigh, Dash just continued leading the group towards they thought would be the main quarters. Rainbow Dash found a door at the end of a long hallway and signaled the rest of the ponies to follow it. After reaching the door, she raised her right hoof and then pressed some buttons on the pad to open said door. The door slid open silently. Rainbow Dash peered inside the door to see what was on the other side. To the far center of the room there was a female gryphon standing on her hind legs and keeping her arms behind her, staring at a large monitor screen. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes as she recognized this gryphon to be Gilda. The gryphon herself had a green best highly decorated with honors and medals, along other metallic bits that indicated her high rank among her army. Dash heard her speaking to someone on the screen, and when she turned her eyes to see the monitor, she noticed the face of Trixie covering most of the screen itself. The pony rolled her eyes at seeing that Trixie would show how big her ego is, even when speaking through a monitor.

"Have your troops advanced to the desired location yet, Gilda?"

"That's _General _Gilda to you, mercenary. And no, we haven't done such thing just yet."

"And why not? We had an agreement on this, _General."_

The gryphon breathed deeply before she responded. She then walked towards the control panel and picked up a glass of water she kept to keep herself cool while talking to the boastful unicorn. After a few gulps, she replaced the glass and resumed the conversation.

"Look, you know how close we are with the Equestrian forces and we are not quite as large in number as they are. You should've been here along with us to attack in unison, not us meeting you in a desolated area far away from our target. I mean, c'mon pony! Do you actually know what you are doing?"

"Know what I'm doing? You are talking to the pony that single handily drove back the squadron of Equestrians who tried to advance towards our borders! Of COURSE I know what I'm doing. Now you just have to move to the location provided so we can achieve success."

"Whatever. When you actually give me a definite reason why I should risk moving my forces on that particular location, I will not even comply. Now I got to tend to other manners, so call me whenever you start making sense, oh "great" and "powerful" Trixie."

"Now see here, you do NOT talk to me that way, and you WILL do as I say, for I-"

Gilda turned off communications with the temperamental unicorn and turned away from the monitor. She did so as two gryphon guards entered the room from the far side, carrying a semi conscious pink pony on their arms. The stopped feet way from their general as Gilda raised an eyebrow at the pony.

"And who is this?"

"She started attacking us on the front gate, general. We eventually got the upper hand and did away with her armor and other weapons she may have concealed. We tried to interrogate her using a truth serum, but the only things she kept saying were about making parties and enjoying cake."

Gilda approached the pony and held her chin under her talon, bringing her face to have a better view of it. The pony herself looked at the gryphon with eyes half closed and a delirious grin, obviously not aware of her current situation. Gilda set her face down once more, then slapped the pony hard on the face. The pony yelped and then became wide awake, looking around with her big round eyes.

"Where am I? Is this a secret party? Oooh, I like secret parties, are you the head cheese of this place? You sure have a lot of those medals and whatnot on your chest."

"Who are you and why did you attacked our base?"

"Um...I was just dropping by actually. I tried to be friends with your eagle head friends here, but they began shooting at me! What kind of reception is that? All I wanted was to make this HUGE party and invite as many ponies and gryphons as I OOF!"

Gilda sunk her taloned fist deep into the pink pony's stomach, knocking out the air and leaving her gasping. Gilda then retrieved her arm and stood on all fours once more.

"Take her to a cell, we will make a proper interrogation procedure. I bet she's with those equestrian forces dweebs. Also, make sure she was the only one, I don't think she was by herself when she foolishly attacked us by herself."

"Yes general."

Rainbow Dash turned back to her friends with a look of worry on her face.

"I now know Gilda is working along with that Trixie mercenary. They also got Pinkie Pie and are sending her to a cell somewhere."

"What do we do now?" Twilight asked.

"You two go ahead and try to get Pinkie. Even if those gryphons managed to strip her from her armor and other ways of communication, she may still have that homing beacon embedded inside her ear like we do. Try to track her signal and then get out of here, I will take care of Gilda to buy us time. Also, try to reach HQ and let them know of what we just found out."

"Don't be a hero, Dash." Applejack said.

"Heh, you know me, AJ. I ALWAYS try to be the hero! Now go, we don't have much time."

Everypony went their own way as Dash entered the door as quiet as possible. The pegasus walked along the rail and then jumped down landing a few meters away from Gilda who had her back turned in the meantime. After landing wit ha heavy metallic sound, the gryphon turned and raised her eyes at the sight of the pony. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, glaring at the gryphon and holding one of her armored hooves at her.

"Gilda."

"Rainbow Dash," said Gilda with a smug grin on her beak "Such an unexpected surprise! If I had known you were showing up, I would've made our favorite tea to relive old moments."

"Cut the crap, Gilda. I know you and Trixie are working together to invade our land. What's your deal? Why are you doing this after your people signed a truce with us all those years ago?"

"Dash, Dash...we did had a truce and is still intact. However we decided to go ahead and take an initiative on things. We don't really want to start an all out war with you, we simply want to have a piece of land you ponies took from us all those centuries ago. What we are doing is simply a business proposal, nothing more."

"What do you mean a piece of land WE took from you? Equestria has been entirely free of any other species, gryphon included when we colonized it."

"That's what flight school taught us, remember? Lies about how fair your land is and its benevolent alicorn sisters overseeing that all was right with the world. What you did not realized is that part of this country was taken from us from the beginning and that your so called peace loving rulers took part in forcing my kind to flee after they took control of the land that was rightfully ours!"

"That's a bucking like and you know it! You ALWAYS told lies to get what you wanted, Gilda! Just like you did when we were part of the flight academy all those years ago. Just like you forced me to lie whenever you started trouble just so your lion hide wouldn't get kicked out of the academy. But we both know how it turned out in the end, don't we?"

"Of course, Dash. Why I remember it as it was yesterday as a matter of fact..."

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO

Gilda held in her talons a bloodied lavender pegasus she just beat a few moments ago. He did the mistake of crossing her when she was walking by and the pegasus rudely shoved her and laughed after doing so. This was not the first time something like this ever happened to her, being that she was about the only of her kind in an academy filled with those filthy ponies. If they didn't shot glares at her, they would say passing comments as she walked by. Some even played pranks on her, at one point hiding a color bomb in her locker which exploded as she opened it, painting her head and neck in a pinkish color. It wasn't worth trying to tell this to the superiors, for they just dismissed it as ponies just acting their age. Well, no more. She had endured enough to let them laugh at her face and if this was the only way to make them learn, then so be it. She was about to land one more hit on the semi conscious pegasus, when the door slammed open. Gilda turned her head to see Rainbow Dash who was staring at the scene with a look of horror on her face.

"Gilda...what did you do?"

"He had it coming, Dash." Gilda explained "They ALL had it coming. I am so tired of this manure, they need to be teached a lesson."

"Gilda, just what has gotten into you? You weren't like this when we met, why are you doing this?"

Gilda dropped the pegasus on the floor as she started walking past Dash. Before the gryphon reached the door, she stopped besides her.

"If you tell anyone about this, our friendship is over. Got it Dash?"

"...fine." Rainbow Dash said, clenching her teeth. Gilda exited the room leaving her with the injured pegasus on the floor, whizzing as the beating he received left him with a few ribs and other bones broken. Rainbow Dash turned and started leaving.

"Please...please help me..."

Rainbow Dash stopped, eyes watering and trying to ignore his plea. She cursed under her breath and turned her head to the injured pegasus.

"I'll get the medic."

Gilda and Rainbow Dash became best of friends a few years prior, when they started their education at the young fliers academy. Gilda was transferred from her native country since her parents lived closer to Equestria, and they could not afford to send her back to get her education. Since they were in good terms with the ponies, the director of the academy accepted the gryphon and assigned her to a class to begin her education. However as soon as Gilda entered the building, pegasus ponies all around began toi ridicule her for the way she looked, the way she talked, the kind of creature she was overall. Gilda learned to ignore this as she spent more time learning in the academy, but was in dire need of someone who didn't look at her the way others did. She met Rainbow Dash who was fending off a couple of male pegasus, both bigger than her. Gilda jumped to the aid of the pegasus filly, and both made short work of the other pegasi, making them run away. Rainbow Dash and Gilda both shook hooves/talons after that, and made a promise of looking at each other's backs while creating a friendship. At first, they treated discrimination as a fleeting thing, not bothering to look at anypony who shot their mouth at them. But recently, Rainbow Dash noticed that Gilda was changing, taking insults or anything else a lot more personally to the point that she began beating anypony who crossed her. Every time this happened, Rainbow Dash was forced to lie to the superiors about what happened, for the fear of losing her only friend she had at the academy. But it was getting harder to lie in behalf of her friend. Every time this happened, those unfortunate to meet Gilda's wrath were getting worse beatings than the ones before. This time, Dash saw that the pegasus Gilda just beat was barely able to breathe. Dash now had to make a decision, tell the truth and save whoever was next, or lie and keep her friendship at the cost of what Gilda would do next time. Dash closed her eyes shut as she made her decision.

Several weeks later, Gilda was beating down on her next target, a white coated yellow maned filly pegasus who insulted her heritage and then was joined by other pegasi pointing hooves and calling her a half breed chicken. Gilda continued landing blows on the face of an already passed out pegasus, blood splattering all over her as her talons were colored crimson. Before the carnage could continue any further, she heard a familiar voice screaming at her.

"Gilda for the love of Celestia STOP!"

Gilda stopped and looked at Rainbow Dash while panting like a wild animal. She noticed that this time, her only friend wasn't alone as two royal guards were flanking her from both sides. The gryphon glared at the cyan pegasus, feeling betrayed by the only friend she had. Rainbow Dash's eyes were streaming with tears, but her eyes were glaring at her in a way Gilda never saw before. The guards trotted over to the gryphon and forced her to drop the pegasus, who just slumped on the floor in a pool of her own blood. The guards then started dragging her away, while Gilda was doing her best to stop them form doing so. The gryphon glared at Rainbow Dash and shout at her.

"Why Dash? Why did you sell me out? I thought we were FRIENDS! Now they are going to separate us and we will never see each other again! Just like the time your kind separated my kin from our land all those centuries ago! Your kind always hated me and my species, Dash! And now you joined them too! I swear the next time we meet will be as ENEMIES! I will rebel! I will avenge my kind and take back what is ours, I will-"

The guard silenced the young gryphon with a heavy strike of his hoof covered with a golden gauntlet. Rainbow Dash lowered her head as her only friend was being dragged away and kicked out from the academy to her own fate. Rainbow Dash never knew what happened to Gilda after that, and she continued her studies at the academy, meeting by chance the other only friend who was also attending it, a timid yellow pegasus named Fluttershy. Soon, Rainbow Dash forgot all about Gilda and lived her life to the fullest with her new friend until she graduated and received a spot within the royal army of Equestria, becoming a Sergeant of her own squad in the process.

NOW

Rainbow Dash held her weapon drawn at Gilda with a shaking hoof. Just now, her former friend reminded her of a detailed story she forced herself to forget. However, Gilda added an extra something that Dash didn't know about. Or rather, chose to forget about for some reason.

"That is a lie. The last part you told me when they dragged you away can't be true! Equestria could never do that to any other race living on this world, you are just being delusional Gilda. You are lying once more like you did before..."

"Oh, but it is true, Dash. You just decided to block it out, just like you blocked me from your memories. Just ask any other superior in your lame army. They will open your eyes from the lies the school fed us."

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes when she received a message on her commlink inside her right ear.

"Bzzt! Dash, this is Applejack. We got Pinkie Pie and are now bailing out. Do whatever you are going ta do and come with us, fast. We already informed HQ about what you found out and they're takin' action soon. AJ over an' out."

"Gilda...I will just leave and forget about the crud you just told me. However, I am not leaving alone..."

Rainbow Dash shot an energy net that came out of her gauntlet at Gilda. However Gilda was too fast for this and jumped backwards as the net extended to catch her. The net landed on the floor while the gryphon somersaulted backwards and out of view as she landed in a dark section of the room. Soon there were mechanical noises and the start of an engine as a bulking form started advancing towards Dash slowly. Once the light shone on it, it was revealed that Gilda was inside a power suit of her own, albeit looking more like a small mech than what Dash was wearing. Whereas the pegasus was partially covered with armor and weapons, Gilda's suit covered her entire body, only leaving her head visible through a glass dome. It had two huge rotary cannons on each arm, and missiles mounted on the side of said cannons.

"Aw horseapples..."

"Horseapples indeed! Now do me a favor Dash and DIE!"

Rainbow Dash dashed to the side as Gilda's cannons roared shooting an endless stream of bullets at the diminutive pegasus. The bullets pierced through everything including walls, crates, and other weapons on barracks. Dash continued speeding away using her boosters as the barrage of bullets inched closed to her. The sergeant quickly jumped behind a cement pillar while the bullets began eating away at the ineffective cover. Dash looked at the door nearby and dashed towards it using all the speed she could purchase.

"Not gonna let you get away that easy Dash!"

Gilda shot a missile from one of the cannons at Dash's direction. The pegasus turned and dropped to the floor before the missile hit her, colliding with the door behind her making a big explosion, sending Dash towards Gilda as she screamed. Dash landed on her face just in front of the waiting cannons from Gilda's suit.

"Any last words pegasus?"

"Buck you..."

Rainbow Dash quickly got up and using her enhanced back legs with the part of her suit covering them, she jumped and landed on top of Gilda's glass dome while the gryphon began shooting at the floor. She got out a ceramic knife and turned it on, then started bringing it down with all her might to the glass dome, getting chunks out of it as she continued bring it down. Gilda roared and moved a few levers and pressed buttons inside her suit, moving the shoulder plates aside to make way for the cannons to move up and pointing them at Dash. Rainbow Dash kicked with her legs at the remains of the dome to push herself away from the upcoming fire. Gilda continued firing even as she noticed Rainbow Dash getting away. She stopped and moved the cannons to shoot at her when her suit began being hit by debris from the ceiling in the form of large chunks of wood and concrete. Her firepower weakened the ceiling structure enough to let part of it fall on her. Soon after, Gilda was covered in rubble as Rainbow Dash worked her way through the huge hole in what remained of the door. The rubble began shaking and it soon exploded in all directions as Gilda let out an eagle shriek from the top of her lungs.

"Oh you are gonna pay for that, Dash. When I am done with you, I will take your wings and hang them on a wall as a trophy!"

Gilda turned on the boosters on her suit and began moving fast towards the door, which was completely destroyed as the suit when through it. Gilda noticed Dash not too far away, and gave chase.

Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie were all facing a small group of gryphons blocking their way to safety. They exchanged firepower as Applejack lend Pinkie Pie an extra gun gauntlet she had as a spare. Whenever they hit a gryphon they made sure to hit him in a non vital area, just enough to disable them from shooting back. Applejack's markmareship and Twilight's own special weapon that shot a glue like substance made sure of that. Pinkie Pie was the only one that had to be careful with her weapon, after shooting a gryphon on the head accidentally.

"This ain't helping us out at all, ladies."

"I agree AJ." Twilight confirmed "We have to find a way to get past these gryphons and fast. Any ideas?"

"Well," recommended Pinkie Pie "We could always try and invite them to a surrendering party!"

"Get serious, Pinkamina!" Applejack scolded "And where in the hay is Dash? We could use her help at the moment."

They all heard a whizzing sound coming closer. Applejack turned her head to see Rainbow Dash coming at them at an incredible speed. The cyan pegasus passed by her friends leaving behind a rainbow colored trail. Second later, they heard the explosions of concussion bombs in front of them as they watched a litter of gryphon soldiers everywhere. Dash then spoke to them via radio.

"C'mon all of you, the coast's clear. Move now,now,now!"

Twilight and Applejack prepared to advance while Pinkie Pie got on top of the orange earth pony. They all then used their boosters to escape. While they were trying to catch up with Dash, a barrage of bullets nearly grazed them. Pinkie Pie turned her head to notice a gryphon inside a huge mech suit following them and firing from its twin cannons.

"Hey, I know that meanie eagle head! She wasn't very nice."

Pinkie Pie began shooting back at Gilda, but the bullets simply bounced off the mech suit harmlessly. With each passing moment, the bullets fired from the suit behind them were quickly approaching them, Twilight getting hit on one of the shoulders and losing a magazine for her weapon in the process. The unicorn made a full turn and stopped completely, her weapon raised at the mech behind her and began shooting. She kept shooting until the hard gooey substance covered most of Gilda's glass dome, blocking her view. Twilight then resumed her escape as the gryphon cursed out loud, using the wipers of the mech to take away the stuff on her dome. Once she was able to see where she was going, she resumed her chase after the ponies.

"Alright, we are out now," Rainbow Dash said as the ponies were out from the base an on the same spot where they began their mission. "All we have to do is to sent the confirmation code of this base's location and we will all be home scott free."

Rainbow Dash pressed a few buttons on the side of her gauntlet and waited a few seconds. After a beep was heard, she motioned the rest to continue walking towards the direction of their mechs over the hill. A big explosion on front of Dash sent her flying backwards to her friends, colliding with Twilight and both falling to the dirt. They all looked at Gilda's mech with smoke coming from one of the missile launchers on the cannon.

"Oh no, you are not going to leave just yet. I have half a mind to get back at you Dash, but now that your friends here decided to get on my nerves, I will gladly send them all to that big, nice pony heaven in the sky. Now you all stay nicely put while I shoot the brains out of you."

Rainbow Dash and Twilight both got up. A message suddenly beeped into Dash's comm in her ear and she answered with a hoof pressing on it.

"Sergeant Rainbow Dash this is Wonderbolt leader Spitfire replying to your confirmation to make a bombing run on the gryphon's base. It is suggested that you move out of the target _now_. Bombing will start in 15 seconds. Over and out."

"Who are you talking to, Dash? Are you trying to say your good byes to your superiors?"

"Nah, just chatting to someone about a big event that is about to occur in a few seconds. You may want to stay clear though, it's gonna be a _blast_."

"What are you talking about? You better make sense before I shoot you dead. On second thought, maybe I should just get it over with and-"

Gilda heard the sound of flying fighters overhead and looked up to see that a squadron was opening their fighter's hatches, dropping a large quantity of bombs down her way. She looked in front of her and noticed that Rainbow Dash and the rest of the ponies were now gone from sight. Cursing, Gilda started moving away when the first wave of bombs contact with the base, blowing away crate supplies, ammunitions, mechs, and everything else that was in the open. Another wave hit the entrances of the base on the mountain, rendering them useless as they got covered in rock and metal. Gilda moved fast to avoid getting hit, but one bomb hit the ground where she was about to move, sending her along with her suit flying to the far side of the area. The suit landed with such force, Gilda was thrown through the damaged glass dome and into the ground away from it. Just as she began getting up, a stray bomb landed on her suit, destroying it and sending her flying far away crashing into an ant hill. Gilda jolted upright from the destroyed hill as she tried to get ants off that were stinging her in all parts of her body. She rolled on the ground to knock some of them off. When she was sure there were no more of the infernal insects, Gilda dropped to her knees and let out an agonizing cry to the sky.

FOUR HOURS LATER

Rainbow Dash met with Captain Pokey as she explained what transpire at the gryphon base. She said everything save for what Gilda mentioned about their land being taken away from them. Once she finished, the Captain nodded at her.

"Good job, Sergeant. Is there anything else you should let me know before I relieve you for the time being?"

"Well...there is one thing, Captain." She said, hesitant "Tell me...is it true that Equestria took part of the land away from gryphons, forcing them to flee in the process?"

The Captain's eyes grew wide at the question, as if revealing something that was not meant to be talked about. Pokey closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I believe you need to get some rest, Sergeant. Be sure to come by the briefing room at seven hundred hours sharp. That is all."

Pokey then trotted away from Rainbow Dash, who now was left with a lot of questions in her head. She walked inside her room and locked the door behind her. Twilight Sparkle decided to stay at the base's library to read away her experiences at the last mission, so she would not be back for the next couple of hours at most. This suited Dash fine, as she didn't feel to share the room with anypony considering that she had a lot in her mind. She turned on the TV and was preparing to get a shower when she heard a knock on her door. The pegasus walked over and opened the door to a very cheerful Ditzy Doo, holding a letter in her mouth.

"Letter for Dash!"

"A letter at this time of day? Are you sure you are not confusing me with somepony else, Derp-I mean Ditzy?"

If Ditzy was offended by the slip of the tongue Dash did, she sure didn't bother to show it. The mailmare of the base kept nudging the letter to Dash, stating that it was for her. Dash took the letter from her mouth and expressed her thanks to the mailmare, who saluted sharply and then trotted away humming a tune. Rainbow Dash closed the door again and inspected the letter. She noticed that it had her name on it, but when she read who it from was, the only thing that was written was the letter G in capital. Rainbow's eyes grew large as she frantically opened the envelope and extracted the letter from within, reading it as fast as she could.

_Dear Dash:_

_Well played, old friend, well played. You managed to escape my revenge and at the same time blew up my base along with my mechs and provisions. Don't you chant victory just yet though, I WILL take vengeance on you and anypony who helped you. It's just a matter of time, Dash. It's just a matter of time._

_PS: Remember when we met for the first time and shared an afternoon watching the sunset? How ironic don't you think? At times though...I wish I could turn back the clock to enjoy that afternoon all over again. Just one last time..._

_G_

Rainbow Dash crumbled the letter and plopped back first to her bed, resting her hoof over her eyes and sighing.

"Gilda, you eagle headed fool...why did you do this to yourself...?"

SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO

Rainbow Dash noticed her newly found friend Gilda sitting on a grassy patch outside the academy, staring at the setting sun. She made a quick canter and sat beside the gryphon, joining the sight. The pegasus took out a bag of lemondrops she acquired at the store outside the academy and popped one piece into her mouth.

"Hey rainbow maned glutton, got enough for both of us?"

"Sure thing, grumpy eagle head, have one on me."

Gilda grinned and took one from the bag, popping it inside her beak and enjoying the tangy flavor of the hard candy. Of any sweets she has ever tried, this one was her favorite. It seemed that she shared her liking of candy with her new (and only) friend in this place. It was all good. She finally felt like she belonged somewhere. She had Dash on her side.

"You know, Dash...I wish this sunset never ended. I want it to last forever sharing it with you."

"What makes you think this will be the only time we share anything together, G? We are friends now, and friendship is forever."

"Yeah...I am down with that. Thank you for being my friend Dash."

"Not a problem, G. Thank _you _for being mine."

They both watched the sun shrink into the distance confident that their friendship would last for an eternity.

END OF CHAPTER 2


	3. Chapter 3

MECH PONIES 3

By

RedDragonKan

ARMORED THANK HELLZBEG

WEIGHT: 500 TN

ARMOR CLASS: HEAVY

CAPACITY CREW: 5

ATTRIBUTES: EXTREMELY FAST AND DEADLY

The heavy thank moved at speeds no one ever expected something its size could move. It trampled over everything that came across whether being old buildings or trees. Its gigantic turret was aimed behind at two heavily weaponized fighter jets that were in pursuit. Their vulcan cannons showering the tank but doing little effect on its armored hide. The tank fired from its turret at one of the jets, missing it as the aerial machine dodged it skillfully. Both areal fighters fired their vulcan shots at it, but the bullets kept bouncing off harmlessly, not even making a single dent on the armor.

"Soarin, we have to stop this thing before it reaches the town."

"Tell me something I don't know Spitfire. Our arsenal is not even slowing it down. We have to improvise."

"Roger. Prepare missile targeting its threads. This should be our last chance before we use the experimental weapon on it."

"Homing a barrage of missiles and preparing to fire now..."

Soarin's get made a humming noise within his cockpit as its wings deployed revealing two sections filled with missiles ready to fire. Spitfire kept maneuvering around to get the tank's attention, distracting it from hitting her partner before he aimed at the threads. After locking on, Soarin depressed the safety switch and a multitude of missiles fired from his jet towards the destined target, hitting the threads successfully making a huge cloud of smoke and fire. Both pegasi pilots held their breath as the tank still continued moving, hoping they had done some kind of significant damage.

The tank continued moving without ever slowing down as it flattened trees and destroyed rock with its powerful seemingly indestructible threads. Soarin cursed out loud as he maneuvered away from another blast coming his way. Spitfire grit teeth and dived onto the tank, firing vulcan shots at its turret in an attempt to at least destroy a section of it as she saw it nearing the city awfully fast. After a few seconds it was all over, a rumbling noise was heard and the sound of buildings demolished made they present.

Then everything went dark. After a few seconds a buzzer blared within the cockpits of both pilots, awakening them from their adreline-driven trance. Spitfire heard Soarin curse again as her monitor came alive once more, the face of Rarity glaring at her.

"And what did occur this time Wingpony Spitfire?"

"I...I just...ugh."

"Yes well, you and Soarin come out your shells and take a good shower. The session will continue again tomorrow until you both find a way to avert this incident from happening again within your virtual sessions."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you ma'am."

With a hiss, her cockpit opened and the pegasus came out slowly, feeling her joints aching after hours of trying to pass the virtual test which she and Soarin had been submitted to. To her right said pegasus was coming out as well, a look of both disappointment and irritation over his face which was unusual since he was always laidback and carefree. Spitfire knew that he had his moments all too well and would not show them unless a great deal of stress was enveloping his judgment. However as soon as another Wonderbolt came with a towel for both, he regained his cheerful disposition and nodded to the mare that provided them with such. They totted out the practice virtual room and headed to the showers while conversing among themselves. It was an uneventful chat until Soarin mentioned a pony she hasn't heard from a while and wished she hasn't again.

"Lightning Dust?" She stated with a risen eyebrow at him. "I thought she disappeared from the country after she was expelled from Wonderbolt camp. Why did you brought her up"

"Because she will be hired to command a band of mercenaries who will aid us with the raid on the underground base of the Gryphons." He replied, his demeanor going back to a serious tone. Spitfire sighed and rubbed her eyes as they both entered the shower. Each peeled off their sweaty suits and tossed them into a hamper, quickly covering it up and placing their goggles on top of it. Spitfire then felt a light smack on her rump which made her yelp and turned sharply to face Soarin who was now wearing a playful smirk on his face.

"Soarin! Don't do that...at least not here, there might be ponies watching you know" She said looking around and hoping no one else saw what he did. It was no surprise that many had thought them both as a couple, it was too obvious. But nothing has ever been confirmed officially, as regulations within their Wonderbolt force stated no pony should be a mate with another within the group, for many reasonable reasons. As squadron leaders, the third being Icewind, they knew to be an example for others to follow, especially rookies. She flared at him to let him know this was a serious matter. Soarin however just dismissed it with a shrug and entered his shower room as she sighed and did the same within another. After a few minutes only the sound of water splashing against their tired bodies and the view was blocked by thick steam covering the entire bathroom. That would not last for long as Soarin began whistling an all familiar tune only he and Spitfire knew.

And this particular tune she would know what Soarin was thinking of as it was a song they often heard when they got intimate behind doors at their own private place far away from the camp. She looked his way, and while the wall was covering her view of the stallion, her imagination was already working on how his body looked drenched in hot water and everything to her was looking just fine. Now it was her time to smirk as she whistled along, letting him know it was a date established for later.

Both continued their own tune as they showered for a long while, not noticing a pair of eyes looking at what just transpired and ears that listened to every word nearby. A snort of annoyance was heard and hooves on floor quickly leaving the area until it was heard no more.

UNKNOWN LOCATION

Lightning Dust was cleaning her heavy arms rifle, taking it apart and making sure everything was in working order, not wanting anything to go wrong when the time was right. Her time in the Wonderbolt camp had taught her many things, none of them to her liking. She deemed them too uptight for her own taste.

And now she was asked to help them on a future raid while using her team as bait distracting the main forces they were to encounter. If it wasn't for the fact that she wanted money more than anything nowadays, she would've given them the most offensive gesture and told them to fit their request where Celestia's sun doesn't shine.

"Dust, there's a message for you in Frequency 97.1"

Lightning Dust just nodded to the other mercenary, a pegasus who was older and more seasoned than her, and picked up the radio tuning in said frequency.

"Yeah? What do ya want?"

"What do I want? I want you to show some respect. After all, we are the ones paying you."

"Attitude adjustment costs extra. Now what is it?"

"We got news that a pony you are acquainted for will be among the raid. Maybe you heard of the called Rainbow Dash."

Her eyes narrowed at the mention of that name but remained cool about hearing it.

"Get to the point."

"The point is," the pony in the radio determined "She and her little squadron of runts will be some trouble for us. Perhaps you could persuade Dash to turn the other way?"

"So I am not the only one who wants to knock her teeth then."

"Let's just say she owes many ponies a little something, and this is part of the payment for her. Of course, this will be added extra into your account should you do your job well with her."

"With Dash?" Lightning Dust said, a noticeable smirk appearing on her lips "I won't charge you a thing. Consider it a freebie for being such a loyal customer."

"Oh? That is mighty generous of you, well then, report when you've done the job...and do not fail us."

Lightning Dust tossed the radio aside discarding it and continued cleaning her gear while humming.

SECTOR GG-D3

SOLDIER BARRACKS

"Dash, what's wrong?" Twilight asked looking at Rainbow Dash who suddenly raised he head from reading her magazine in their quarters, looking into the emptiness of their ceiling.

"Uh...nothing thought I felt my ears burning..."

"Take that and that you fiends!"

Pinkie Pie shouted, pulling the trigger and eliminating several dozen targets floating within the virtual training room. She has been doing so for hours, tirelessly shooting every single pod that popped up with added speed around her. The pink pony kept ranking points and promotions, and even though it was more than enough to pass any kind of test several times over, she kept at it without rest. On the other side of the room lay ensign Inkie Pie. one of her sisters taping on the floor bored as she could be and tired after practicing with her since they began early in the afternoon.

"Pinkie...I'm bored, I don't want to do this anymore..."

If Pinkie Pie caught any of what she said, she wasn't listening. She kept shooting and continued the onslaught of drones that kept being tossed at her. Inkie Pie sighed, getting up and trotting towards the control panel. With the witch of a key inserted, the simulation ended and Pinkie Pie's face turned from her cheerful self to that of disdain.

"Aw, but I was holding the highest score ever! No fair!"

"No fair? Pinkie this isn't a videogame, it's for us to get better at, and you know, that!"

Pinkie Pie turned to her sister who was visibly agitated and stuck her tongue at her, which didn't helped her sister's mood by much. Inkie Simply took the keys and the chip cards with Pinkie's name on and started heading out. Seeing that she was about to be left alone, Pinkie bounced after her still protesting about cutting her "gaming" session. Several minutes later, another couple of recruits entered the training room and switched on the console on the control panel to begin their own training exercise session. Upon examining the last accumulated points the previous session had, both felt their jaws hit the floor at the outrageous score accumulated onscreen.

"Now class we must set up everything to initiate your next lesson concentrating on closing a deep wound. Everypony ready your heat incisors now!"

Chief Nurse Redheart instructed her class within the barracks of the base, they were having new recruits and interns, therefore they needed to train as many volunteers as they could. Fluttershy was enrolled as an intern but she also would have to take classes in order to further her education on how to heal soldiers. Said classes included doing first aid during battle, something she would never have to experience if she didn't had to. She took her medic blade and started heating it up on the mini furnace that it was equipped on each table fashioned after a bed for clinical rooms, and a pony doll that was marked on every other part of the body that needed treatment for certain lessons. Being shy the most, she would have problems operating on a real body, but on dummy she felt most at ease.

After the class was over and she was ready to go, a pony approached her. Fluttershy started feeling tense, and the urgency of leaving right there and then was increasing. She moved as fast as she could putting all the equipment back inside her saddlebag but it was too fast ass she clumsily ended up knocking said bag to the floor, spreading all its contents on the floor. The pony in front of her giggled without any sign of malice, and quickly began helping her to pick up her belongings.

"My, you sure seem nervous to talk to anypony...what is your name?"

"Um...Flutter...Fluttershy.."

"What was that?"

Fluttershy began mumbling her name even lower and softer than before. The other pony smiled and finished helping putting everything back inside her saddlebag then set it on her back as much as Fluttershy felt like protesting. Afterwards, her green eyes fixated on the pony that helped her, a mulberry coated with magenta mane and also green eyes still smiled at her.

"Well then my name is Cheerilee! Its nice meeting you Fluttersigh."

"Um, nice meeting you too...and its Shy."

"Oh I am sorry, I just couldn't understand you at first, how about we go to the Cafeteria? My treat."

"Oh, well, I have to go elsewhere actually...sorry."

"Really? Well that's alright then. But here, I hope at least you come by the warehouse at the end of the base tonight at least."

"Huh? Why?"

Fluttershy looked at Cheerilee's hoof holding a flyer which she nervously took and began looking at it. After she ended reading it she looked back at Cheerilee, who was already exiting the classroom.

"Wait! I am not sure if I should go, I mean, I..."

"Don't worry, the party will be just what you need, trust me! See ya there!"

After Cheerilee was out of view, Fluttershy let out a prolonged sigh and began trotting out to her own quarters.

Applejack was lazily taking a nap on the rooftop of the building they currently were settled on. Her hat pulled all the way touching her nose and chewing on a twig from a branch she cut on the way back. The sun was warm and toasty and she had already had a meal that would feed three hungry foals in a setting. Yes, it was a good day to take it easy especially since they were to have a certain raid that would last for days and no guarantee of having a break. Nothing could ever sour her mood nor ruin this day, absolutely nothing...

"Letter for Miss Jack!"

Applejack raised her hat slowly to catch a glimpse of the mailmare, the pegasus ensign Doo, whom everyone else dubbed Derpy for the way one of her eyes wandered away from her vision. She hovered just above the earth pony holding a letter on her hoof extended to her. Applejack sighed but got up to retrieve it, before doing so however Derpy quickly pulled away her arm and suddenly had a frown on her face.

"Darn it Derpy, ya know ah not always have a muffin with me...just hand it over, ah'll make sure to give ya two when I next see ya aight?"

"Um...oki doki!"

Applejack was given the letter and the opened it wanting to go back to her day long break. Before she started reading it, she noticed Derpy still above her, this time looking at her expectantly.

"Got anything else?"

"Nu huh!"

"Ya wanna hear what I got then"

"Yuh huh!"

"Aight, just sit down then, its kinda distracting with yer wings flapping like that..."

Derpy did as told and sat in front of her, keeping as much quiet as she could manage. Applejack then began eyeing the letter and a smile shone on her freckled face.

"What is it Miss Jack?"

"It's from mah brother! Hoowee, ah sure was wonderin' what kept him so long to write back, was beginning to...to...Oh mah gosh..."

"Miss Jack, what is it?"

One of the pegasus' eye looked at Applejack as the other wandered down when she let go of the letter, slowly falling to the floor. As it reached it, Applejack's sobs were surrounding the once peaceful day that was abruptly interrupted.

DEAR MISS APPLEJACK:

WE REGRET TO INFORM THAT SERGEANT BIG MACINTOSH OF THE SQUADRON ROUGH NECKS HAS BEEN WOUNDED IN BATTLE AND HAS BEEN COMMISIONED OUT OF ACTIVE DUTY. AS OF 2 AM THIS MORNING HIS STATUS IS CRITICAL AT THE HOSPITAL LOCATED IN WEST EQUESTRIA. IF YOU WISH TO HAVE A FAMILY VISIT, DO LET YOUR SUPERIORS KNOW BEFORE HAND. YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY HAS ALREADY BEEN NOTIFIED OF THIS MESSAGE.

OUR SINCERE SYMPHATIES

~Cpt. SHINING ARMOR

END OF CHAPTER 3


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